The simple way is to ignore that value. If you fill the kettle with strike water that's about 10 degrees hotter than your strike temp (with no specific heat), you only have to wait (and maybe stir) until the temp comes down to what you need then mash in the grain.

What is this "clean" word you mention? Seriously, all I do is spray all the gunk out of the cooler and then shoot water backwards up the hose and out the braid. That usually takes care of all the cleaning.

Some of our breweries are also like, why distribute at all when we make more money selling beer in town. They sell beer and it’s more of a you want it come and get it, you’ll never find it anywhere else.

This model supports localism and our economy. We keep a big portion of local money in town, and we bring in a big chuck of outside cash into our flow of business.

This is the model I like. Makes 3-tier laws meaningless, yields better beer (distributor/distribution don't take care of beer like the brewer does), and supports local.

Aluminum works. Just be aware that it's going to oxidize and kinda look like hell but don't try to scrub out that oxidation, it actually ends up protecting things. Also be gentle with it as aluminum is easy to dent.

The beauty in this one was the only real prep was splitting the sprouts in half. The rest was completed on a sheet pan in the oven. Since we had covered the pan with foil it was as simple as throwing away the foil.

Yep, that's the best part - simplicity. No need to dirty another pan pre-frying the bacon.

plus the twist...how to keep the fermenter at the right temp while its doing its job? I have settled on a five gallon bucket inside a wine fridge set at temp 65-72 i think. just want to bounce this off people to see how my thought process is working. thanks in advance

Be aware that, while the air in your wine fridge (which is what the fridge thermostat will be measuring) will be your desired temperature range, the fermenting wort itself can be 5-10 degrees warmer than that. Best thing is to measure/control the actual wort temperature. Failing that, setting the fridge to a lower temp is another option.

Another option is to forego the ball valve altogether. I just have the tubing come directly out of the cooler and I tuck the end of the tubing up into the handle on the cooler. When I want to drain, all I have to do is to lower the tubing into the kettle. To stop, lift the hose up again. Easy peasy.